Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has reiterated that he would push to legalize gay marriage, setting the stage for what could be a battle with state legislators.

The overwhelming front-runner in New York's gubernatorial race, Spitzer on Thursday told a gathering of the state's major gay rights group that every New Yorker should be free to marry the person of their choice, regardless of their gender.

"This is not about forcing any religion to perform or recognize gay marriage. It's simply about permitting gay and lesbian couples the right to live in stable, long-term married relationships," Spitzer said, according to a transcript of his remarks to the Empire State Pride Agenda.

.......

"We will not ask if (legalizing gay marriage is) hard or easy. We will simply ask whether it's right or wrong," Spitzer said.

But I'm concerned that he could be shooting himself in the foot by supporting gay marriage now instead of after the election. I don't think that Faso will win based on this comment alone, but I wouldn't be surprised if Spitzer drops 5%-10%.

I'd like to see a link for that. I live in New York, but I'm afraid that Spitzer could be vulernable on this issue because of the GOP talkingpoint that he ignored enforcing the law when the Mayor of New Paltz gave out marriage certificates in 2004 (I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I've heard it from right-wingers, and I would rather quash this bullshit before it takes hold.)

I do distinctly remember Spitzer saying that, while he supported gay marriage, the Mayor was wrong because NY laws clearly use the words "man" and "woman". Therefore, Spitzer went ahead and enforced the anti-same sex marriage laws even though he believed the laws to be wrong.

His dedication to what is legal (as Attorney General) gave me a new respect for the man. Spitzer remains one of my personal political heroes to this day, and I can't wait until he's my Governor.

In a sign of shifting public opinion, Republicans seem to see little political advantage in pressing their opposition to gay marriage. John Faso, the Republican nominee for governor, praised the court's ruling, but has not attacked Spitzer's support for same-sex marriage. Advisers say Faso's not planning to campaign on the issue.

In a May podcast interview with the Daily News, Faso indicated he would support an institution different from marriage in name only. He said that "the concept of civil unions is something that should be looked at and examined very closely." He also noted that he was among the first Republicans in the state to back the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, and he praised his lesbian neighbors as good parents.

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion
board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules
page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the
opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent
the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.